Safe
by Oliviasdreamscape
Summary: When Olivia overhears Peter badmouth her in the lab, she leaves in a rage before letting him explain the real reason behind his words. Hurt and angry, Olivia makes a reckless decision that ultimately leaves her in a dangerous, and potentially deadly, situation. Set in late season 2.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story contains a minor situation of non-consent, so if you aren't comfortable with that, turn back now. Thanks :)**

**Also, I like to explore many different sides of the characters, so some might call my stories slightly OOC. However, I don't like that term and believe it is restrictive. I just write what I see in my own mind, whether it's in character or not.**

**I don't use a beta, so all mistakes are mine. **

**Hope you enjoy :)**

"Finally," Olivia murmured to herself as she closed her last file for the day. It was already 8:00 PM on a Friday night, and she had been sitting in her office in the lab since 6:00 AM looking over cases. Standing up, she winced as a sharp pain shot through her back. God, she must've been sitting there longer than she'd thought. She stretched her muscles out the very best she could in her tight suit and grabbed her pea coat to head into the blistering winter wind. It was time to call it a day.

When she turned the doorknob on her office door and opened it a crack, she heard voices coming from the lab. She'd thought she was the only one there, but Peter must've somehow slipped in without her noticing. He was standing at the doorway chatting with Agent Chris Hutton, whom was new to the FBI and had been assigned as the Fringe Division's personal assistant. He was completely clueless to what he was doing and what exactly the Fringe Division was, but he took his job very seriously. He was probably a few years younger than Olivia with sandy blonde hair and kind brown eyes. She found it surprising that he was single.

Olivia began to open the door more, but stopped when she heard her name leave Agent Hutton's mouth. She didn't catch his entire sentence, but listened closely to see if her name would come up again.

* * *

"Hutton, thanks for meeting me here on such short notice," Peter stated as he opened the door to the lab to let the agent in.

"No problem, Bishop. Here are those files you asked for," Chris reported, handing the folders to Peter.

"Thanks. That's all I needed."

"Glad to be of assistance." He began to shift his weight from foot to foot and fiddle with his hands, obviously nervous about something. "So, is Olivia here?"

Peter gave him a questioning look. "Olivia? Uh, yeah she's in her office. She's been really busy today, though. I've learned it's just best to leave her be while she's in her zone."

"Oh…okay."

"Why do you ask?" Peter inquired curiously.

"I was going to see if she wanted to have a drink with me later tonight."

Peter eyed him skeptically and crossed his arms. "I wouldn't bother if I were you. She's pretty uptight when it comes to things like having fun. Not the most enjoyable person to be around, if you know what I mean."

"Oh. I see. Well, I guess I'll see you around then."

"Yep, see you around. Thanks again."

Peter shut the door behind Agent Hutton as he left the lab. He felt bad for fibbing to Chris and telling him that Olivia was uptight and unpleasant, but it was just the first lie that came to his mind. Truthfully, he just didn't want any guy to ask her out besides him. He wanted to be the only man that Olivia was seeing. Peter hadn't yet built up the nerve to admit he had deep feelings for her, but was planning on telling her soon. He just wanted to make sure that when he told her it was the perfect moment. Until then, all he had to do was keep all suitors away from her, which was much easier said than done.

* * *

_She's pretty uptight when it comes to things like having fun. Not the most enjoyable person to be around. _Olivia closed her office door and leaned her head against the cold, glass window. Was she really uptight and unexciting? Almost every time Peter had asked her to get drinks with him she'd accepted. She always had fun when she was out with him, and he seemed to enjoy himself, as well. She'd clearly been wrong.

Olivia had pretty thick skin, but for some reason, Peter's words hurt her to the core. She felt like the only person she'd ever come to trust completely had betrayed her. It was silly of her to be so offended by such a harmless statement, but she was. She'd even begun to sense that Peter had developed feelings for her, just like she had for him. She'd obviously been wrong about that, as well.

She was astounded when her eyes started to sting with tears. Was she seriously going to cry over a few stupid words? She was Special Agent Olivia Dunham. She had fully recovered from a car accident that should've left her dead, crossed universes, controlled things with her mind, and thousands of other unworldly things that normal people wouldn't even dream of doing. And now she was tearing up over a couple of guileless statements? This exhaustion was really toying with her emotions.

Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Olivia walked out of the lab defiantly. Peter looked up from reading a file and smiled at her, hopping down from the table he was sitting on. Today was supposed to be his day off, but he knew Olivia would be at the lab by herself. Even though he was aware she'd stay in her office all day, he still didn't want her to be alone. He also had some work he'd been putting off that needed to be attended to.

But above all else, he just hoped she would agree to go out to dinner with him, which they'd never done before.

Tonight he was finally going to ask her on a real date.

"Livia, hey. How are you? Did you get all of your work done?" Peter asked as he fell into step beside her.

Olivia refused to meet his gaze, still wounded by his allegation. "I'm fine. Yes, I am done with my work," She answered curtly.

Peter was confused when she didn't stop walking to have a conversation with him. Usually they hung out and talked for a little bit in the lab when it was just the two of them. She seemed slightly upset.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm great. Just tired that's all." When they reached the door, Peter stood in front of it and looked at her quizzically. She stared up at him in annoyance. "Peter, I really just want to go home and get some sleep. I've been staring at files for over 12 hours."

"Too tired to have dinner with me?"

Olivia gave a stunned laugh and shook her head. Was he serious? Now she was angry. "Oh, I better not. I'm much too uptight and boring for things like that, remember?"

Swiftly, she dodged to the side of him and grabbed the doorknob. Peter felt his heart lodge in his throat, obstructing his breathing. She'd heard what he'd said about her; only she had no idea that it'd been a complete lie.

"Olivia, wait, let me explain," He pleaded despondently, gently grabbing her arm to stop her from leaving.

She jerked his hand away as if he'd burned her and opened the door. She didn't want to hear any phony excuses.

"Please, Liv. It's not what you think," Peter assured as he chased after her down the hallway.

Abruptly she stopped walking and turned to face him. He was barely able to stop himself from running smack into her.

"You know what, Peter? I don't want or need any bogus explanations. I heard what you said, and it sure sounded like you meant it. What I don't understand is why you always ask me out when I'm obviously not good enough to meet your standards. Jesus, is it just some kind of sick game to you? Do you take me out and pretend like you're having a good time, and then laugh about how bland I am behind my back? I really thought you were different, Peter. Evidently I was completely mistaken."

Olivia turned and hurried out of the building to her car, leaving him completely dumbstruck. She could no longer hold back the hot tears that were now streaming down her face as she got into her vehicle. She had really thought Peter was special, and all of this time he'd been playing her just like every other guy she'd ever had feelings for. Only this time, it hurt much worse.

As she sped home, Olivia thought more and more about what Peter had said, and turned her car around. She drove past the quiet neighborhoods and into the city until she reached a small, cozy-looking bar on the corner. Releasing her hair from her pony and undoing a couple more buttons on her blouse, she headed inside. She was about to show Peter just how 'uptight' she could be.

* * *

Peter stood speechless in the hallway of Harvard for a good five minutes before he regained enough of his wits to head back into the lab. How could he have been so stupid? His selfish lie to keep Olivia to himself had not only resulted in him losing her, it had also hurt her so deeply that she'd cried. Olivia never cried.

"Shit!" Peter yelled as he flipped one of the lab tables over, sending all of its contents flying into various places around the room. He had never been so angry with himself in his entire life. What he really wanted to do was go chase after Olivia and pour his heart out to her, but he knew she needed space. If there was anyone that knew Olivia, it was him. He just hoped that if he gave her enough time and distance, she would come around and let him explain. He needed her to know that what he'd said wasn't true— needed her to know that she was his absolute favorite person to be with in the whole world. Silently, Peter walked out of the lab, leaving his mess behind. It wouldn't be the only thing he'd have to clean up later, thanks to his negligence.

* * *

The second Olivia walked into the bar, her eardrums were filled with the loud cadence of classic rock. It smelled strongly of smoke and cheap perfume, and definitely wasn't as pleasant as the bar her and Peter usually went to. _Peter._ Just thinking his name made her breath hitch in her throat. Barring him from her mind, she pulled her shoulders back confidently and sat on a stool at the counter.

There weren't too many people around: several guys playing pool in the back, a couple of girls sitting at a table drinking fruity cocktails, and a few men sitting alongside her at the bar. She ordered a shot of whiskey and tipped it back, grimacing as the hard alcohol burned its way down her throat.

"Another one for the lady," A voice from behind her called to the bartender. Olivia turned and saw a tall, handsome man she assumed was in his mid thirties. His eyes were a brilliant shade of blue, his hair wiry and nearly jet-black. He looked like he'd just walked out of a Calvin Klein advertisement. He sat on the stool beside her and flashed a blindingly white smile. "So, what's someone as attractive as you doing alone at a bar?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Olivia responded flirtatiously as she threw back her second shot. She signaled for another.

"Beautiful and handles her whiskey better than most men. What's your name?" He questioned huskily, leaning in closer to her. Normally she would smile and walk away, but not tonight. Tonight she was daring. Exciting, even.

She leaned in so her face was mere inches away from his. "What's yours?"

He laughed lightly and brought his hand to his chin. "Daniel. You know, I'm usually pretty good at figuring out women at first glance, but you are a complete mystery. The second I saw you I knew I had to come talk to you."

Olivia smiled slyly and downed her third shot. "Maybe that's how I want it to be."

Smirking and shaking his head, he held out his hand and stood up. "Well, I've always been a sucker for mystery. Care for a dance?"

Without hesitation, Olivia put her hand in his and followed him out to the nearly empty dance floor. Before she knew what was happening, he spun her around and dipped her body low so it was almost touching the ground. Then he slowly brought her back up, never taking his eyes off of hers.

"You know your way around a dance floor. I wouldn't have guessed," Olivia spoke as he glided her expertly across the room.

"Maybe you should get to know me a little," He winked, pulling her body flat against his. It made her a little uncomfortable, but she wasn't about to chicken out now. She was already too invested in this, and Olivia Dunham never backed down from a challenge.

As they sashayed to the music, Olivia decided she might as well ask him some questions about himself.

"So, Daniel. Are you from around here?"

"No, I'm not. I'm from Philadelphia."

"What brings you to Boston?"

"How about you tell me your name, and I'll tell you why I'm here."

Olivia grinned and acquiesced. "Olivia."

"Olivia." He smiled and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "A beautiful name for a beautiful woman."

"Thank you. Now, why are you here?"

"Business. I work in advertising, and I had an interview today for a manager position at one of the leading firms in the country."

"And how did your interview go?"

"I guess I'll just have to wait and see if they call me tomorrow. Until then, I want to keep my mind on other things. Like you."

"Hmm charming."

"I try. So, Olivia, what do you do?"

"Guess." This ought to be good.

"Let's see. Well, you're too complex to be a receptionist and much too sexy to be a teacher. You're a spy, aren't you?"

Olivia laughed. "You're dead on."

"I knew it." He spun her around once more and pulled her back in against his body. Only this time, his hand went a little lower on her back, and she stiffened. He moved his hand up automatically. It made her a little more comfortable knowing that Daniel would respect her space if she showed signs of displeasure. This really wasn't as bad as she'd thought it would be. Actually, it was quite enjoyable.

"What do you actually do?" He questioned.

"That information is strictly confidential," She stated matter-of-factly. Little did he know she was actually telling the truth.

"Honey, I am going to solve your little mystery of a life. How about a few more drinks?"

"Sounds great."

Daniel ordered them another round and they drank and chatted for an hour or so. When a yawn escaped her mouth, she looked at her watch and was shocked to see that it was already past 12:00 AM. She had almost been awake for 24 hours.

"Looks like someone is tired. Hard day?"

Olivia felt a sharp pain in her chest as Peter returned to her consciousness. "You could say that."

"I'm usually not this straightforward, but would you like to come back to my hotel room with me? I'm staying at the Fifteen Beacon. The bed is luxurious, and there is a massive Jacuzzi." He scooted closer to her and brought his hands to her shoulders, massaging them deeply. It felt incredible. "Close your eyes and imagine yourself submerged in that steaming water, the jets massaging all the worry and stress from your body."

Olivia closed her eyes and imagined the heavenly scene he'd just described. It did sound wonderful. Suddenly, he moved one of hands to the back of her head and the other to cup her cheek. Before her mind could comprehend what was happening, his lips were on hers, silky and smooth. She knew she shouldn't be kissing him back, but she was. The alcohol was making her feel confident and daring. When he pulled away, he beamed and helped her to her feet. She must've stood up too fast because she began to topple forward, thankfully landing in his arms. Exactly how much had she had to drink?

"Whoa now, take it easy. I've got you." He put his arm around her waist and sat her back down on the stool. "I'm going to call a cab for us. Just sit tight, okay?"

She nodded and rested her head in her hands. Although her thoughts were cloudy, her logical, lucid brain was thankfully too stubborn in be inhibited completely. Daniel was a really nice guy, but she couldn't go to his hotel room with him. She just wasn't that kind of woman.

Slowly, she stood up and took a deep, steadying breath. There seemed to be two of everything— she hadn't been this drunk since... ever.

"Olivia, hey, you shouldn't be standing," Daniel instructed. "The cab should be here in a couple minutes. Just relax until then, alright?"

Olivia obliged and sat back down again. "Daniel, you are a great guy and I've really enjoyed myself tonight, but I can't go back to your hotel room with you. I really just need to go home and sleep."

Clearly disappointed, he nodded and sat down next to her. "I understand. I don't want to pressure you into anything you don't want to do. I'm just incredibly attracted to you; I've never met anyone like you before."

"Well maybe when I'm not so drunk we can see each other again and have a conversation I will actually remember."

"Touché. So, is that a 'yes' to seeing me again in the near future?"

"Yes," She smiled.

Unexpectedly, Olivia felt her stomach twist into a billion knots as a sudden sweep of nausea took over her body.

"I—I need to go to the bathroom," she managed to choke out.

Daniel quickly stood up and practically carried her to the restroom. Once inside, she went into one of the stalls and leaned over the toilet. This had to be the most embarrassing moment of her life.

"Do you need me to hold your hair back?" He asked softly.

"No, I've got it. Thank you, though. You can leave if you want to. I'll call a cab for myself," She replied weakly.

"I'm not going to leave you like this, Olivia. I'll be right outside, okay?"

"Okay."

Before he left, he took the hair tie from her wrist and gathered her strands into a loose bun at the nape of her neck. Without another word he left the bathroom, leaving Olivia kneeling on the dirty floor over a germ-infested toilet. Disgusting was putting it lightly.

After a few minutes of heaving, Olivia felt her nausea begin to dissipate as her stomach calmed down. She stood up and slowly walked to the door so she wouldn't topple over. Her head felt like it had its own heartbeat. When she finally found the doorknob, she turned it and saw Daniel standing outside the bathroom with what she assumed was a glass of water.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked as he handed her the water. "Drink this."

"Thank you," She stated, downing it in 3 huge gulps. "I feel a lot better now."

"Good. The cab is waiting outside, let me help you to it."

She allowed him to put his arm around her waist and guide her to the taxi parked alongside the curb. When he opened the door for her, she turned to him and smiled. "Daniel, thank you so much for everything. If I could just get your num—"

Before Olivia could finish her sentence, the most intense wave of exhaustion she'd ever felt hit her like a car crashing into a brick wall. She actually felt her head begin to spin, her vision getting darker around the edges until everything went completely black. The last image she saw was Daniel's face looking at her as he pulled her into the cab with him. She might have been imagining it, but she could've sworn he was sneering…


	2. Chapter 2

When Olivia's eyes fluttered open, she squeezed them back shut as a throbbing pain pounded through her head. She tried to bring her hands up to massage her temples, but one of her wrists was confined in something cold and heavy behind her back. Her eyes shot open, and she tried endlessly to pull her hand free to no avail. Alarms began wailing and flashing in her mind as she registered that she was handcuffed to a bed. Adrenaline coursed through her veins while she took in her surroundings, having absolutely no idea where she was.

Though her mind was still fuzzy, her extensive military and FBI training kicked in and she began to calm down a bit. She needed to focus. Looking around the room with fresh eyes, she noticed that she was alone in what looked like some sort of fancy hotel room. Suddenly, a face popped into her mind: _Daniel._ The last thing she remembered was him guiding her to a cab that was supposed to be taking her home—obviously something had interfered with that.

She brought her free hand to her pocket to pull out her cell but it was gone. Panic began to spread throughout her limbs, and she used all her willpower to stay composed. Her eyes drifted to the bedside table searching for a phone, but it seemed that everything except a small lamp had been cleared away. What the hell was going on?

Suddenly, she remembered that she still had her backup mobile tucked away in her bra. Reaching inside her shirt, she almost cried tears of joy when she pulled it out. Peter had always made fun of her for using such a strange place as a pocket, but it sure was coming in handy right now. _Peter._ She dialed his number by heart, and prayed that he would answer.

* * *

Peter groaned when he heard his cell phone go off and turned on the lamp by his bed. Who would be calling him this late, or rather this early? Squinting to see the name on the caller ID, he saw that it was Olivia's backup phone. He instantly sat up in bed and answered her call. She never used this phone unless something was wrong.

"Olivia?" He answered, a tad bit anxiously.

"…Peter?" She whispered. Her voice came out weak and shaky— she didn't even recognize it.

Peter's heart began to thump audibly in his chest. "Is everything okay? Where are you?"

"I— I don't know where I am. I think I might be in a hotel room. I'm alone and handcuffed to a bed," She sputtered.

Peter hopped up like his sheets were on fire and began to yank on his clothes. "What do you mean you're handcuffed to a bed? Olivia, what is going on?"

"After I left the lab last night I went to a bar and there was this guy—" Suddenly, everything began to click into place as she remembered the baneful way he'd grinned at her. "Oh God, Peter, I think he might've drugged me," She stammered.

"Olivia, listen to me. I am coming for you, okay? I'm coming. Just stay on the line with me." Peter took his phone from his ear and turned on the tracking device that he'd gotten from one of his 'weird connections' after his first few Fringe cases. He practically tumbled down the stairs and to his car, not bothering to tell Walter where he was going. The fear and desperation in her voice filled him with the most intense adrenaline rush he'd ever experienced.

"Peter?"

"I'm still here, Liv. I'm tracking your location from my phone; I'm in the car right now."

"…I—I'm so scared," she disclosed feebly.

Peter's heart was thrashing around in his chest like a moth fluttering wildly against a hot light. Olivia rarely ever got scared—she was the strongest person he'd ever known.

"I'm coming, Olivia. Everything is going to be okay." He was trying his best to keep calm for her, but wasn't sure how long he'd be able to keep up the act.

Olivia's eyes shot to the door when she heard the unmistakable plod of footsteps outside. "Oh my God, Peter, I think he's here," She whispered frantically.

"Olivia, listen to me. Do not hang up."

"Peter, the door is opening."

"Olivia, do no hang up! Olivia! Olivia?"

She had stopped answering him, and now all he could hear was muffled voices. He tried his best to listen, but something was blocking the sound from coming in clearly. Then, he heard a noise that caused his insides to constrict, making him floor the gas pedal: Olivia's scream.

* * *

"_Olivia, do not hang up!" _Was the last thing she heard Peter say before quickly stuffing the phone under the pillow. The next instant she saw Daniel walk through the door and quietly shut it behind him. He no longer looked like that charismatic man who had charmed her into oblivion—he now had a slightly crazed look in his eyes that made beads of nervous sweat begin to form on her forehead. How could she have overlooked this? Could the alcohol really have clouded her judgment that badly? God, what had she gotten herself into?

"Olivia, glad to see you're awake," He spoke smoothly, coming to sit next to her on the bed. She cringed away from him as best as she could.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing? Take these handcuffs off of me now," She demanded. She tried to sound authoritative, but her voice came out unsteady and weak.

He laughed cruelly and leaned in closer to her. She could smell alcohol on his breath. "Now why would I want to do that? We'd have no fun if I let you go."

"If you think this is fun, then you are insane."

"Come on Olivia, loosen up a little." He trailed his fingers down her cheek and she shuddered. "This could very easily be the best night of your life if you would just relax."

Before she knew what was happening, he moved overtop of her, pinning her legs and both of her arms to the bed.

"Get off of me!" She screamed, only to be met with a stinging slap of his hand. She felt all the color drain from her face when the barrel of a gun stared her straight in the eyes.

"Scream one more time, and it will be the last sound you ever make."

When she nodded, he smiled and pulled another pair of handcuffs from his back pocket. Soon, both of her wrists were constrained above her head on the bars of the bed. She felt his searing mouth on her neck and closed her eyes, not wanting to see anything that he was going to do to her. He undid the buttons on her shirt slowly, exposing her little by little. Then his hands made their way to her breasts, squeezing them roughly over the black fabric of her bra and making her wince. He continued to grope her for a few never-ending minutes, and then his hands began to lazily make their way to the top of her slacks. She started to squirm in protest, and he slapped her again. She went limp in defeat— there was no way she was going to win this one.

The usual Olivia Dunham would put up a fight. The usual Olivia Dunham wouldn't let him get away with this. But right now, she wasn't the usual Olivia Dunham. Right now her thoughts were blurry, her body was weak, and she was having a fairly hard time keeping her eyes open. She knew she was still a bit drunk, or maybe it was the drugs he'd undoubtedly given her. Either way she just didn't have it in her to fight back. All she could do was lie there and let him have his way with her, praying that Peter would find her before things got too much worse.

* * *

Peter could no longer hear Olivia's voice, and his panic was now past the point of no return. He sped down the interstate, making his way towards the blinking red dot on his phone that signaled her location.

Realizing that he was going at least 100 MPH and wasn't in an FBI vehicle, he decided to make a quick call to Broyles to let him know what was going on.

"Broyles," the Colonel answered groggily.

"It's Peter. We have a situation with Oli—Agent Dunham."

"What kind of situation?"

"I'm not sure. She called me from her backup phone a few minutes ago. Told me she thinks a guy drugged her and took her to his motel room," Peter exclaimed, his voice getting more anxious with every word he spoke. "The last thing I heard was her scream."

"Shit. I'll get a team together. Where are you now?"

"Speeding down interstate 87 towards downtown. I tracked her phone and should get to her in about 5 minutes. Please let all authorities know not to pull me over."

"I'm on it. Keep me updated, and let me know of her location ASAP so I can alert the team."

"I will."

Peter ended the call and wished his car would go faster. He had a revolting gut feeling that something terrible was happening to Olivia, and could barely handle it. Reaching into his glove box, he pulled out his handgun and cocked it. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to stop himself from ending her abductor's life.

When Peter got downtown, Olivia's signal got stronger and stronger until the flashing light became frantic. He was stopped in front of the Fifteen Beacon—the nicest, most luxurious hotel in all of Boston. Now this he hadn't been expecting.

Practically parking his car in the middle of the street, he ran to the entrance and burst through the doors. Olivia's blinking dot got even stronger. He looked around frenziedly until he spotted the front desk and ran to it. Behind the desk was a kid in his mid-twenties who glared at Peter skeptically when he practically lurched towards the counter.

"I'm with the FBI. I'm looking for a blonde woman about 30 years old. She would've been with a man, and possibly passed out or delirious. It should've happened within the last 4 or 5 hours."

"May I see your credentials?"

Damn it. "I don't have them with me right now. Look, kid. This woman is in danger, and if I don't get to her soon, God knows what could happen."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't give you that information without seeing your badge. It's against the—" Peter didn't even let him finish his sentence before reaching behind the desk and gathering the front of his shirt into a tight fist.

"If you have any information on the whereabouts of the woman I just described, then you better tell me or I swear to God—"

"Okay, okay I think I saw who you are looking for," He squeaked in fear. "Just please don't hurt me and I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

Peter immediately released the kid and waited for him to share his knowledge.

"About 2 hours ago a guy came in carrying a blonde woman who matches your description. He'd lost the key to his room so he asked for a new one. He was in room 419."

Peter turned and sprinted towards the elevator the second he heard the room number leave the kid's mouth, dialing Broyles's number on the way up.

Olivia felt Daniel's hands slowly undoing her belt, elongating her agony. Suddenly she felt a draft move across her legs, and it registered that he had completely removed her pants in one fluid motion. Her breathing became shallow and quick as his mouth teased the inside of her thighs, moving closer to her sensitive flesh with every painful nip of his teeth. She tried her best to fill her mind with happy thoughts to distract herself from what was happening, but it didn't work. No pleasant thought could surpass the horror that was Daniel.

When his hands reached the top of her panties, she gritted her teeth and prepared herself. All at once, the door burst open with a loud bang. She heard the shot of a gun and the smack of a body hitting the floor, suddenly feeling cold air where Daniel's tormenting mouth had been only seconds before. Daring herself to open her eyes, her gaze fell on Peter's distraught form standing in the entryway with a smoking gun in his outstretched hands. The second their eyes met, he dropped the firearm and stumbled his way over to her.

"Jesus Christ," He muttered to himself as he kneeled by her side. Seeing Olivia in such a vulnerable and rattled state made him feel like throwing up. Yet, what unnerved him the most was the look of surrender in her eyes—she'd been planning on letting that bastard have his way with her because she'd had no other choice. If Peter would've been even a minute later… he didn't even want to think about what could've—would've—happened.

He pulled out a pocketknife from his jacket and began to pick the locks on the handcuffs. Without warning, Olivia felt her shock begin to wear off, and started to hyperventilate. She began to writhe and struggle against the handcuffs, needing out of them in that instant.

"I've almost got them, Liv," He assured as serenely as he could. Peter felt tears sting his eyes as he watched the horror of her situation began to wash over her. He worked as quickly and deftly as he could, but handcuff locks weren't the easiest to pick.

A few minutes later he finally freed both of her hands and instantaneously scooped her into his arms. She clung fervently to his shirt and buried her face into his neck. She was shuddering so violently that Peter had to make sure she wasn't having a seizure.

"I've got you. You're safe now," He whispered tranquilly in her ear, rocking her back and forth on the bed. She was in his arms. She was safe. He needed to say the words for himself as much as he needed to say them for her. It felt like the weight of the world was being lifted off of his shoulders as he sat there holding her. He could finally breathe again.

Olivia nestled herself into Peter and breathed his scent in deeply. It was so comforting and familiar, calming her nerves and slowing her racing heartbeat.

Out of the blue a large team of FBI agents came swarming into the room, all of them stopping in their tracks when their eyes locked on Peter and Olivia. Peter motioned to Daniel's motionless body on the ground beside the bed, and they rolled him away on a stretcher. Lucky for Daniel, Peter had decided to shoot him in the shoulder, only causing him to pass out in pain. Peter wanted to make sure the bastard got a piece of his mind before he went straight to hell.

When one of the agents tried to help Olivia onto a stretcher, her breathing began to quicken again, her grip on Peter's shirt tightening.

"Thanks, but I'll take it from here," Peter insisted. The agent nodded and went to find a new task to take care of. Peter knew there would be countless questions that would need answering, but all that mattered to him in that moment was getting Olivia to a hospital. Who knew what the fucker had drugged her with?

When all of the agents were out of the room, Peter tried to pull her away from him, but she wouldn't budge.

"Liv, it's only you and I in this room. Everyone else is gone," He soothed. "Let me help you get dressed."

He felt her hold on him loosen, and drew her away to lean her against the headboard. He found her pants at the foot of the bed and handed them to her. She took them from him silently and put them on, then buttoned her shirt impassively. After she was clothed she felt tears sting her eyes, and her face fell into her hands.

"Oh God, Peter, what have I done?" Olivia cried, utterly ashamed of herself.

The anger she'd felt towards Peter had completely dissipated the second she'd heard his anxious voice on the other line of her cell phone. She had no doubt in her mind that he genuinely cared about her, his heroic rescue proving it beyond a doubt. She knew she'd overreacted at the lab, and her dramatized response to prove a foolish point had landed her drugged and handcuffed to a bed. How could she have been so rash?

Peter was stunned beyond belief at her words. "Olivia _you _didn't do anything wrong. None of this was your fault. Do you hear me?" He took her face in is hands and brought it up to lock his gaze to hers. "None of this was your fault."

She wanted to tell Peter the truth about why she'd gone to the bar in the first place, but didn't have the heart. No matter how much she'd try to convince him otherwise, she knew he would blame himself for what happened to her. She just couldn't put that heavy of a burden on his shoulders. He would never forgive himself—she knew him far too well. Instead, she fell right back into his arms.

"I just want to go home, Peter. I want out of this room."

"Before I take you home you are going to the hospital. No argument."

As much as she hated the thought of going to the hospital, she knew it was a good idea. She had no clue what drugs were traveling through her system and mixing with the abundance of alcohol she'd consumed.

Peter helped her to her feet, but her knees gave out as soon as weight was put on them. She felt helpless and frustrated not being able to do something as simple as walking, but Peter swept her up easily into his arms and carried her to his car.

The whole way to the hospital Olivia was silent. She was relieved that Peter didn't try to push for a conversation or an inquisition. He just held her hand tenderly, which was exactly what she needed. Sometimes the simplest things meant much more than words ever could.

When they got to the hospital, Peter carried her into the ER and got her checked in. As she sat in a chair and watched him fill out her paperwork at the counter, she realized that he knew so much about her that he could fill out her personal documents without having to ask her a thing. He really did know her better than anyone else.

After finishing her paperwork he came and sat next to her. She was curled up in an uncomfortable looking chair, hugging her knees to her chest. She looked so small and frail—nothing like the Olivia Dunham he knew and cared about so deeply. He placed his hand on her back and rubbed it lightly, trying his best to sooth her tense body.

Spontaneously, Olivia began to feel extremely dizzy. Her head felt like someone had filled it with lead and her eyelids became impossible to keep open, all of the strength and energy in her body vanishing. No longer able to hold herself up, she collapsed into Peter's lap.

"Olivia?" Peter questioned. He shook her body, but she didn't respond. "Olivia?" He spoke a little louder, panic taking over when he realized she was unconscious. Bringing his fingers to her neck, relief flooded over him when he felt her pulse. She was still breathing, but it was shallow and weak. Folding her into his arms, he carried her out of the waiting room and burst through the doors that lead to the actual ER.

"Help! I need help! She's unconscious!" Peter screamed in the middle of the hallway. An abundance of nurses rushed over to him and placed Olivia on a stretcher. As they wheeled her away, Peter chased after them, not about to let her out of his sight. When they reached an empty room, they veered her in. Peter tried to follow behind her but one of the nurses stopped him.

"Sir, do you have any idea why she might've fallen unconscious?" She asked.

"I'm pretty sure she was drugged, but I'm not sure with what."

"Why was she drugged?"

Peter almost screamed at her to go read the paperwork he'd just filled out, but stopped himself, knowing that probably wouldn't be the best thing to do if he wanted Olivia to get help as soon as possible.

"She was taken against her will by some son of a bitch at a bar. I have no idea what he did to her. I just—can I please go into the room with her?" Peter didn't want to answer any more questions. All he wanted was to see with his own eyes that Olivia was okay.

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm going to have to ask you to head back into the waiting room. I will have someone come and get you after we examine…"

"Olivia. Her name is Olivia. Please, you have to let me stay. I won't get in the way, I promise. Please," Peter begged.

The nurse eyed him empathetically and sighed. "Are you a family member?"

Peter knew the only way she was going to let him stay was if he was somehow related to her. He was going to have to lie. "She's my fiancée."

"Alright, you can stay. But you're going to need to stand in the back of the room until further notice," She instructed.

"That's fine. Thank you so much." Without hesitation, Peter entered the room and stood against the back wall. They had given Olivia an IV and were checking her vitals, which fortunately looked healthy according to the monitor. The nurse he'd just finished talking to came and informed the others of her possible drug intake, and they immediately drew her blood for further testing.

Olivia's skin was pale and clammy, her face distraught as if she was having a terrifying nightmare she couldn't wake up from. He wanted so badly to be by her side. Why did this have to happen to Olivia—the most ethical, compassionate, amazing person he'd ever known? She didn't deserve this. She had dedicated her life to helping other people, and this was what she'd gotten in return?

Peter had never hated himself more than he did in that moment. On top of being taken against her will, drugged, and God knows what else, he had deeply hurt her with his careless words in the lab. Even though it seemed like she wasn't angry with him anymore, that didn't change the fact that he'd caused her pain. There was also a chance that once the intensity of the situation wore off she'd hate him again. Still, he made a silent promise that he would spend the rest of his life making sure nothing like this ever happened to her again, regardless if she liked him or not.

"Sir? It's okay for you to go sit by her now. She's still unconscious, but you shouldn't be worried. Her vitals are strong," the nurse assured him, interrupting his mournful reverie. Peter thanked her and pulled up a chair next to Olivia's bedside. He took her limp hand in his, and for the first time, realized how dainty it was. Her skin was so soft and fragile, similar to a child's. Peter had never perceived any aspect of Olivia as fragile—not until tonight. He'd always seen her as the invincible heroine, forgetting to take into account that she was still a woman with feelings and emotions—feelings and emotions that he'd hurt.

Brushing her hair from her face, he lightly trailed his knuckles from her forehead to her chin. He felt an unusual wetness in his eyes, and was shocked when a tear dripped down his cheek. He was…crying. Peter sniffed and wiped the moisture from his face—it had been years since he'd cried.

Taking her hand in his, he leaned down until he was mere inches away from her ear. "I'm so sorry, Olivia," he whimpered. " I'm so sorry."

He laid his head down on the mattress of Olivia's bed, physically and mentally drained, and was asleep in less than a second.


	3. Chapter 3

A steady beeping noise brought Olivia to consciousness. Slowly opening her eyes, she stared up at an unfamiliar tiled ceiling. Looking to her right, she saw that the beeping was coming from a monitor connected to her through various sensors. She was in the hospital.

It registered to her that someone was holding her hand, and turned to find Peter fast asleep on the edge of her bed. Smiling, she ran her fingers through his hair and he stirred. He lifted his head and his sleepy gaze met hers. A huge grin crossed his face.

"Olivia," He breathed, placing his free hand on her cheek. Most of her color had returned, making her look a little more like the woman he'd spent the last 2 years of his life with. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better. What happened?" She inquired.

Peter looked at her compassionately and squeezed her hand. "You passed out. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Sitting with you in the ER waiting room."

"…Do you remember why you had to go to the ER?" Peter hated reminding her why she was there, but he had to make sure she hadn't forgotten the… incident.

Olivia's mind flashed through numerous disturbing images of Daniel's face, his cruel hands on her body, the feeling of her pants sliding off of her legs...

"Yes," She grimaced, looking down in shame. She felt Peter's fingers under her chin, bringing her head up to meet his gaze.

"Hey. Everything is going to be okay," He promised, giving her a reassuring smile. His heart leaped with joy when she smiled back and nodded.

"The doctor took a blood test to see if there were drugs in your system, but I'm not sure what the verdict is." Peter looked at the clock on the wall, and realized it was already 6:00 AM. He had slept for almost 4 hours. "Let me see if I can flag him down."

"Okay," She murmured.

"Oh and by the way, if anyone asks, I'm your fiancée," Peter grinned.

Olivia cocked her head and gave him a crooked smile. "Okay?"

"I had to lie to them. It was the only way they'd let me stay in here with you."

Olivia gave a weak laugh and pulled him into a tight embrace. He held her body tightly against his, so thankful she was alright.

"I'm glad you lied to them," She whispered against his neck.

Peter pulled back and kissed her forehead tenderly. "I'll be right back."

Olivia did her best to sit up in the bed as Peter walked out of the room. She had a mild headache, which she guessed was the result of a hangover. She'd take a headache over being drunk and drugged any day.

With her mind finally clear, she made herself try to remember the events that had led up to her kidnapping. The first thing to pop into her consciousness was Peter's hurtful words to Agent Hutton. Although the words still stung, she felt no anger. He had saved her life, and hadn't left her side since he'd rescued her.

Now that the fury she'd felt had dissipated, she began to replay the scene in her mind. He had looked at her with such pain and desperation in his eyes when he'd said it wasn't what she thought. God, why hadn't she given him a chance to explain? Why had she overacted so badly? In the 2 years she'd known him, Peter had not once lied to her. She should've heard him out.

What if this was all just a misunderstanding? Maybe if she would've let him talk instead of being so closed-minded she wouldn't be sitting in the ER right now. She'd probably be asleep in her warm bed instead of waiting to see if she'd been drugged. She might've even had a nice night with Peter. It briefly crossed her mind that he'd invited her to dinner, which he'd never done before. Olivia covered her face with her hands, so mad at herself that she wanted to punch something.

Hearing footsteps, she removed her hands and saw Peter and the doctor enter the room. Peter looked at her worriedly, and took his seat next to her bed. He took her hand and squeezed it twice. She could tell he was asking her if she was okay without actually saying it. Her and Peter had always had a strange ability to have conversations without actually speaking. She squeezed his hand once, confirming that she was fine.

The doctor pulled up a stool next to her bed and glanced over a chart.

"Hi Olivia, I'm Dr. Madison. How are you feeling?"

Dr. Madison was tall, handsome, and surprisingly in immaculate shape for his advanced age. He hand brilliantly kind hazel eyes that smiled when he spoke. She liked him instantly.

"Better, thank you."

"Good, good. Well, I've got your drug test results here. You had quite a bit of Flunitrazepam in your system, mixed with a small amount of Ambien. I'm not at all surprised you passed out with these two drugs, mixed with such a high quantity of alcohol, coursing through your system. Actually, I'm a little shocked that you recall what happened to you. Peter here told me you remember the events that occurred last night?"

Olivia let this new information sink in. She didn't even know what those drugs were, let alone what they did. She felt powerless and vulnerable.

"Yes, I remember most of it," She whispered.

Although her eidetic memory was handy at times, all she wanted to do now was forget, which was something she was rarely able to do. She suspected the Cortexiphan in her system had probably helped her memory as well, though she still had no idea how to control her newfound abilities.

"That's very unusual, but very fortunate. It will definitely help the police with your case," The doctor stated. Olivia forgot all about having to deal with the legal issues. Suddenly, it occurred to her that Peter had shot Daniel. He was going to go through hell with the authorities. She looked up at him apologetically, and he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a smile, as if to say 'don't worry about it.' He was fully prepared to tackle whatever interrogation the police had in store for him. He regretted nothing about what he'd done.

Dr. Madison cleared his throat, and Olivia turned her head to look at him.

"Olivia, I'm going to need to ask you if you'd like me to perform a sexual assault examination," He affirmed softly.

Olivia closed her eyes in ignominy. "I—I don't think he—he…" She couldn't bring herself to say the words. She didn't want to believe that him sexually assaulting her was a possibility.

"I know this is hard Olivia, but it would only benefit you to have it done," the doctor assured. "But the decision is completely up to you."

Taking a deep breath, she agreed to go through with the procedure. "Okay. I'll do it."

Even though she was almost positive he hadn't raped her, she knew it would be smart to make sure. Who knew what he'd done to her while she was passed out?

"Alright. I'll need you to undress from your waist down and cover yourself with this sheet," He instructed, handing her a thin, blue piece of fabric. "I'll be back in 5 minutes."

Peter stood up to follow Dr. Madison, but Olivia grabbed his arm. "Peter, I'd like you to stay."

He looked at her hesitantly, not entirely sure what to do. "Olivia, I—."

"Please, Peter? I—I don't want to do this alone," She pleaded. Olivia wasn't used to asking people favors, let alone asking someone to stay with her during an extremely private examination. But she really wasn't ready for Peter to leave her side. Without him she'd fall victim to her own mind and would be forced to be alone with her perturbing thoughts of Daniel. Right now, he was the only thing keeping her from breaking down.

He could hear the anxiety in her voice, and sat back down in the chair next to her bed. There was no way he could leave her in such a dismayed state.

"I'll turn around so you can undress. Just tell me when you're done," He instructed.

Olivia gave a sigh of relief and nodded. When she finished undressing, she sat on the bed and pulled the sheet over her. She took Peter's hand in hers to let him know it was safe to turn around. When his gaze met hers, she noticed the guilt in his melancholy sapphire eyes. She knew he was thinking about what he'd said to her in the lab.

"I'm not mad at you," She confessed softly.

"You should be," He stated solemnly.

"I'm not. I shouldn't have overreacted so badly. I should've let you explain."

"No matter the explanation, those words still came out of my mouth," Peter spoke, taking Olivia's other hand in his. He looked down at their entangled fingers, not able to meet her gaze. "I hurt you."

Olivia leaned her head down until her eyes were level with his, willing him to look at her. "Yes, Peter, your words hurt me, but we all make mistakes. We're human; it's what we do. But I know how truly sorry you are and that's all that matters to me."

Finally, Peter locked his eyes with hers. They were like twinkling peridot gems, mesmerizing him like they always had. He didn't understand how her eyes could still hold such an enchanting sparkle after everything she'd been through.

"I'd do anything to take back what I said, Liv. _Anything_. Those words were a complete lie— that's not how I feel about you at all. I'm so sorry."

"I know," Olivia whispered, placing her hand on his cheek. "So what's the real reason you said that about me if you didn't mean it?"

Before Peter go a chance to explain, the doctor knocked on the door and walked in.

"Are you ready?" Dr. Madison asked kindly.

"Yes," Olivia nodded. She was as ready as she'd ever be.

"Olivia, if I could just get you to put your feet in these stirrups…" The doctor inquired, snapping her harshly back into reality.

She took a deep breath and put her feet in the metal loops. When she felt him between her legs, she shuddered. It brought back painful memories of Daniel, and she turned to bury her face in Peter's shoulder. He began to rub her back affectionately, her agonizing recollections dissipating with every brush of his hand.

"I'm going to have to ask you some sensitive questions to help with the examination and also for your medical file. Are you comfortable with that?"

"Yes," She spoke.

"Have you had sexual intercourse within the last week?"

"No," She admitted quietly.

"Okay. I know that's an extremely personal question, but it helps me make sure that if I find any trace of semen that it's from your assaulter, not your partner."

She nodded and looked up at Peter, who smiled at her reassuringly.

"I'm going to ask you about the incident now, Olivia," He stated. "Did your assaulter touch you inappropriately in any way that you're aware of?"

She drew in a shaky breath as she recalled his hands on her body. "He—he touched my breasts. That's all."

Her answer made Peter grimace. He couldn't stand the thought of that bastard putting his hands on Olivia, especially in a place where only someone who loved her should touch. Someone like Peter.

"Did he hurt you in any way?"

Olivia remembered the stinging slaps with a wince. "Yes."

"How?"

"He slapped me a couple times. And—and he was pretty rough when he—when he touched me."

"There are quite a few small bruises on the inside of your thighs. Could those be from your assaulter?"

"Yes," She replied weakly.

Peter clenched his hand in a tight fist, his fingernails digging into his flesh. If it weren't for Olivia needing him to stay with her, he'd go find and murder the bastard right now. He felt his breathing become deep and heavy as an unfathomable rage heated its way through his body.

"Well Olivia, the good news is that there doesn't look like there was any forced entry. But I will need to run some more tests to make sure you have no STIs or semen in your body."

"How long will the tests take?" Olivia asked. She felt dirty and used. She was more than ready to go home and get out of this cold, colorless room.

"Only about half an hour," Dr. Madison assured, standing up from his stool. "I'm going to go get started so you can head home as soon as possible. I'm sure you're tired of being here. You can go ahead and get dressed after I leave."

"Thank you, doctor," Olivia stated, pulling her legs down off of the stirrups.

Dr. Madison smiled and gave her and Peter a nod, then headed out the door.

Olivia felt Peter's gaze burning a hold in the side of her face and turned to look at him. His eyes were brimming with unshed tears.

"Olivia," was all he could murmur. His heart ached so badly for her; he wished he could take all of her pain away and put it on himself.

She smiled half-heartedly and smoothed her hand along his upper arm. "Hey, it's okay. I'm okay."

Peter shook his head and pulled her into a tight embrace, his hand tangling in her hair. "It's not okay."

No. It really wasn't okay. But Olivia had never been one to dwell on things. She needed to buck up and move past this, like she did with everything else. She couldn't let this get to her; couldn't allow herself to be weak.

Olivia pulled away and sighed. "I should probably get dressed."

Peter nodded, handing Olivia her clothes and turning around to give her some privacy.

"Peter?" Olivia spoke, sitting on the bed after she'd clothed herself.

He turned to look at her. "Yeah?"

"Thank you so much for saving me. And for staying with me. And just for—for everything. You'll never know how much it means to me." Olivia wished there was something better to say than 'thank you.' Those words just weren't enough for how much she appreciated everything he did for her.

Peter moved from his chair to sit on the edge of the bed next to her. He rested his hand on her knee, brushing his thumb along her denim-covered skin.

"Olivia, you don't have to thank me. I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

She placed her hand on top of his and squeezed it. When he winced, Olivia turned his hand over and looked at his palm. It had four bloody crescent-shaped cuts along the bottom.

"Peter, what did you do?" Olivia inquired incredulously.

He pulled has hand from her grasp and smiled. "It's nothing. Just got a little bit angry, is all."

"Angry at what?"

His eyes suddenly turned dark cobalt, reminding her of the ocean during a raging storm. "As soon as I get the chance, I'm going to finish what I started. I'm going to kill that son of a bitch."

The unwavering sincerity in his voice made her shiver. He meant every word he'd just said. "Peter, you can't. They'll lock you up, you know that."

"I don't care in the least. He needs to be taken out of this world, and I'd be thrilled to do the honors."

"I care, Peter. I'd never see you again." The thought made an icy chill creep up her spine.

Peter could practically taste the fear seeping from her body. It made his heart warm knowing she cared for him so deeply. And she was right—if he acted out of pure hatred and did something as impulsive as murdering Daniel, he'd be locked away for good. How would he be able to live without seeing Olivia everyday? He took her face in his hands and smiled at her tenderly, letting her know that he'd never leave her side.

This time when her eyes met his, it was like looking up at a clear blue sky after an endless gray winter. She felt cherished and safe, her stomach filling with millions of fluttering butterflies that made her want to dance. She took a sharp breath and looked away, not at all prepared to experience something so intense.

"What's wrong?" Peter whispered.

"Nothing," she claimed, shaking her head. "I'm… just worried about the test results."

"Hey, it'll be okay. Whatever happens, we'll get through it together."

Olivia smiled lackadaisically and nodded, the heartfelt moment her and Peter had just shared still fresh in her mind. She'd never felt anything so electrifying before.

Suddenly, Dr. Madison entered the room.

"Hello, again," He greeted, sitting on his stool at the end of the bed. He turned to face Olivia and smiled. "I have some more good news: the results came back negative. You can head home whenever you'd like."

Olivia sighed in relief, her head falling against Peter's shoulder. Peter let out a breathy, joyful laugh.

"Oh, thank God," He breathed as he rested his cheek on top of Olivia's head. They stayed nestled against each other for a few more seconds until Peter stood up from his spot on the mattress. "I'm going to go pull the car up front, okay? Just stay here, I'll be right back."

"Okay," Olivia smiled. Peter took her hand in his and kissed it lightly, so happy that the doctor was able to give her good news. She already had a heavy enough load to carry—she didn't need any extra weight added on.

After he'd left the room, Olivia closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall, so thankful the tests had come back negative.

"He's not really your fiancée, is he?" Dr. Madison queried, snapping Olivia out of her daydream. For a second, Olivia was dumbfounded. Then she remembered that Peter had to lie so he could stay in the room with her.

"No, he's not," She admitted shamefully. "How'd you know?"

He smiled as he took notes on a clipboard. "No rings."

Olivia felt her cheeks redden like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "I'm sorry we lied."

"It's no problem," He assured, never taking his eyes away from his paperwork. "I would've let him stay with you regardless. I can tell that he really loves you."

Unexpectedly, Olivia felt her heart leap. "What makes you think that?"

"I have worked with tens of thousands of people in my career, and not once have I ever seen someone so frenzied over another person. This is the first time he's left your side for more than a minute since you've been here."

Olivia bit her lip to mask the huge, uncontrollable grin taking over her face. Did Peter really love her?

Almost on cue, Peter entered the room. "Ready to go?"

"More than ready," She sighed, stripping herself of various wires.

Peter helped Olivia to her feet, making sure she had her balance before letting go. She was glad her ability to stand had found its way back. Before they left the room, she turned to face the doctor.

"Dr. Madison, thank you for everything."

"Of course, Olivia. Take care of yourself."

"I will," She promised.

As her and Peter walked down the hall of the ER, Olivia silently took his hand in hers. He turned his head to look at her and beamed, rubbing his thumb along her soft skin. Things could only get better from here.


	4. Chapter 4

When they finally got to her apartment, Olivia had to fight the urge to fall to the ground and kiss the floor. There were no words to express how happy she was to be home.

"What would you like for breakfast?" Peter asked as he headed off towards her kitchen.

"Peter, you don't have to make me something to eat. I'm not helpless," She grinned, trailing behind him.

"I know, but I want to. I could make those blueberry pancakes of Walter's that you love." Peter was enjoying taking care of her, and didn't want to stop. Olivia was so independent and headstrong—it was rare he ever got to do nice things for her.

As soon as he said 'blueberry pancakes' her stomach betrayed her and growled loudly. It then occurred to her that she hadn't eaten in over a day.

"Alright, just this once."

Peter smiled and began to pull out various ingredients and cooking utensils. Olivia sat at her table and watched him maneuver his way around her kitchen as if this was his apartment instead of hers. She wasn't surprised though; they'd spent many long nights in her home going over case files, discussing endless Fringe events, and just hanging out.

Olivia's thoughts were interrupted by Peter's cell phone ringing. By the look on his face, she could tell it was Walter.

"Walter," Peter answered.

"Peter! It's me, Walter, your father. Where are you? I went into your room to have you taste my new strawberry milkshake and you were gone!"

"Sorry Walter, I'm having breakfast with Olivia." Peter was relieved that his father hadn't noticed he'd been gone all night as well.

"Having breakfast? Is that a euphemism for fornication?"

"No, Walter." Peter felt his cheeks redden. "I'll be home soon, alright? Please don't use the stove, and no science experiments in the bathroom!"

"I am not a child Peter. But please hurry back because I'm hungry and craving fish sticks."

Peter couldn't help but smile. "See you soon, Walter."

When he hung up the phone, he looked back at Olivia who was watching him intently with a crooked grin on her face. Damn, she was beautiful.

"Did Walter embarrass you?" She questioned mischievously.

"Why do you ask that?"

"You were blushing while you were talking to him."

Peter felt his face heat again. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Olivia laughed and stood up from her chair. She'd never seen him look so mortified. "Your face is redder than a tomato! You have to tell me what he said to make you blush like this!"

"It's nothing," Peter assured as nonchalantly as he could.

Olivia jumped up to sit on the counter next to the stove and stared him down. "Tell me," she insisted.

Now Peter was amused. "There's nothing to tell," He asserted casually.

Olivia narrowed her eyes at him. "20 questions."

Peter grinned mischievously and flipped a pancake. Now this would be interesting. "Alright, go."

"Was it something about your childhood?"

"Nope."

"Did it have to do with him being naked?" Olivia held back a giggle.

"No, thank God."

"Anything to do with food?"

"Surprisingly, no."

Olivia had only asked 3 questions and she was already stumped. The only things Walter ever talked about were food and Peter, so if it didn't have to do those two things or with him being naked, what could it have been?

Suddenly, a sly smile crossed her face.

"It had something to do with you and I being together right now, didn't it?" She inquired impishly, her conjecture more of a statement than a question. The only other time she'd ever seen Peter's cheeks turn pink was when they'd woken Walter up for a fringe case and he'd assumed Peter and Olivia needed to use the bedroom.

Peter felt his heart quicken. He hadn't expected her to actually figure out what Walter had been assuming, which was a stupid presumption considering she was Agent Olivia Dunham and could get anything out of anyone.

"Uhh… yes," He stated coolly, trying not to sound too humiliated. When he saw Olivia trying smother a laugh, he knew he was blushing again. Damn it.

"I don't think I need to ask any more questions," She simpered, obviously amused.

"Well I'm glad Walter could make you laugh," He spoke with a slight smile, turning his head to look her in the eyes. "I really missed the sound of that."

Olivia smiled back at him, the excited butterflies coming alive in her stomach again. All at once, Olivia felt that striking electricity in the air between them. The first time she'd felt it, it'd been so intense that she'd had to look away, not prepared to feel something so powerful. But Dr. Madison assuming Peter was in love with her changed things. Olivia wanted to see it for herself, to taste it on his lips. She couldn't simply take the doctor's word for it—she needed to know without a doubt that his observation was true. So this time when the almost tangible current swirled around them and their eyes fixed on each other, she didn't look away.

Peter's gaze was all consuming, making everything else around them disappear. Closing her eyes, she intuitively moved closer to him until she could feel his humid breath leaving steamy heat on her awaiting lips.

A knock on the door made Olivia jump back, her hand resting over her heart in a startled response.

"Oh my God, I think I just had a heart attack," Olivia breathed, taking a steadying breath and sliding off the counter. "I wonder who it is, I'm not expecting anyone."

Still in a trance from their amorous moment, Peter snapped himself out of it and moved the last slightly-burnt pancake onto a plate with the rest, creating a tall stack of blueberry bliss. As Olivia headed toward the door, he grabbed her arm to stop her.

"I'll get the door if you get the table set up," Peter conceded.

"Okay, sure," Olivia shrugged.

After turning off the stove, Peter walked towards the front door. He assumed it was someone who'd heard about Olivia's incident coming to give their apologies and leave a casserole or something. He knew it would make her uncomfortable, but she was too kind and considerate to ever tell the person she wasn't ready for company. However, Peter was perfectly comfortable with telling people to give her some space.

When he looked through the peephole, his heart dropped. It was the police.

"Morning, officer," Peter smiled as he opened the door. Cops and Peter Bishop really didn't mix, but he needed to stay polite for Olivia.

"Morning," greeted one of the two policemen. "Is this Agent Olivia Dunham's residence?"

"Yes, it is. How may I help you?"

"My name's Officer Burrows, and this is my partner Officer Reynolds," he addressed, holding out his hand. Peter took it and gave it a quick shake, offering the other officer a nod. "We'd like to ask her a few questions. Are you her husband?"

"No, just a friend. Peter Bishop," Peter offered.

The two cops exchanged a stern look. "You're Peter Bishop?

"Last time I checked," Peter replied, getting slightly annoyed.

"Well we have quite a few questions to ask you, too. May we come in?"

"Oliv—Agent Dunham and I are just sitting down for breakfast. Could you come back another time?"

Before the officer could answer, Olivia appeared at Peter's side.

"Can I help you?" Olivia inquired casually.

"Hi, Agent Dunham. I'm Officer Burrows and this is Officer Reynolds. Would it be okay if we came in and asked you and Mr. Bishop a few questions regarding your incident? If you would like us to come back another time we can."

As much as Olivia wanted to forget about everything that'd happened to her, she knew she'd have to go through the inquisition sooner or later. What she really wanted was to move on from all of this and get back to her normal life, but delaying the questioning would just prolong Daniel's haunting presence in her mind. She just needed to get this over with.

"Yes, that's fine. Come on in," Olivia granted, moving aside to let the officers enter her apartment. "You can take a seat on the couch, if you'd like. Could I get either of you something to drink?"

"No thanks, ma'am," the officers answered as they took seats on the sofa, taking out their notepads in preparation.

Before Olivia could make her way to the living room to join the cops, Peter took hold of her hand. She turned to look at him.

"Livia, are you sure you don't want them to come back later? You've barely been home two hours and haven't even eaten yet. I'll tell them to leave if you want me to," Peter insisted quietly so only she could hear him.

Olivia furrowed her brow. "Peter, I need to get this over with. The longer I wait, the longer this whole thing is going to eat at me until I can finally put it in the past and move on."

"I understand, but can't you at least wait one day? Just so you can have some time to recover a little?"

"Peter, I'm fine. I recognize you're just trying to protect me, but I'm not a child. I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions." With that, she took her hand from his and walked briskly into her living room.

Sighing, Peter reluctantly followed and took a sit next to her on the couch opposite of the officers.

"Are we ready to get started?" Officer Burrows asked.

"Yes," Olivia replied, answering for both her and Peter.


	5. Chapter 5

By the time the officers had finished their tedious interrogation it was well into the afternoon. After shutting the door behind them, Olivia sulked over to one of her kitchen chairs and flopped down, mentally depleted. Her eyes fell over her and Peter's now cold pancake breakfast, but surprisingly, she no longer felt hungry. The cops' questions had been even more intrusive and elaborate than the doctor's, forcing her relive every last excruciating second of the assault. When she felt Peter's hands on her shoulders, she nearly fell off her seat in alarm.

"Hey, it's just me," He soothed, lightly attempting to massage her anxieties away.

About halfway through the inquisition Peter could tell Olivia was getting stressed, but she pushed through, like she did with everything else. He prayed each question would be the last, but there was always another one. The only thing he could do was clench his teeth and hold her hand while she recreated her horrible nightmare.

"Do you want to eat now? The food just needs to be heated up."

Olivia shook her head robotically, the ability to speak completely eradicated. She was relieved the questioning was over, but had no idea that it'd leave her this hollowed out. She felt numb and listless, wanting nothing more than to curl up in her bed and hide under the covers, surrounded by darkness.

Peter moved to the chair next to her to look into her eyes, but that brilliant sparkle he loved so much had disappeared entirely. All that was left was a dark emptiness that made him feel heartbroken and terrified at the same time. That bastard was going to spend the rest of his days behind bars— Peter was going to make sure of it.

"Olivia?" He spoke warily, willing her to look at him with an inkling of emotion or recognition. "Are you okay?"

She could see the concern in Peter's eyes and hear it in his voice, but it didn't comfort her or make her feel safe like it had only hours before. Instead, it made her feel weak. She deeply appreciated everything Peter had done for her, but she was tired of being babied. She needed Peter and her colleagues to see her as the fearless leader, not some helpless infant that needed someone to take care of her every basic need. It was time to put on her big girl panties and move on. She forced her best phony smile and nodded.

"I'm fine," She assured, glad her capability of speaking had returned. "I'm just a little tired. I think I'm going to take a nap."

"Okay, I'll just hang out until you wake up."

Olivia shook her head. "That's okay, Peter. You can go home. Thanks again for everything." Standing up, she started to walk towards her room.

"Olivia, hey, wait!" Peter called, trailing behind her. Olivia turned and looked at him emotionlessly. "Talk to me."

Olivia sighed and looked at the wall. "I just want to be alone."

Peter didn't know what to say. Just a few hours ago she'd nearly had a breakdown when he tried to leave her, and now she wanted to be alone? Confused didn't even begin to describe what he felt.

"Liv, I don't understand. Why do you want to be alone all of a sudden?"

"Peter, I—" Olivia stammered. She didn't know what to say without hurting his feelings, but lying to him was pointless. He could see right through her. Taking a deep breath, she brought her gaze back to his. "I'm ready to move on from this. I don't want or need to be taken care of."

Peter opened his mouth to protest, but shut it in defeat. He knew there was no sense in arguing with Olivia Dunham. She got over things by propelling forward without looking back, and that was exactly how she was going to treat this. As badly as he wanted to be with her and take care of her for once, it just wasn't going to happen.

"Alright, I understand. Just—just please call me if you need anything. Anything at all."

"I will. Thank you, Peter," she smiled warmly, caressing his upper arm and then turning towards her bedroom.

Peter watched her until she closed her bedroom door, leaving him standing there feeling powerless. Up until the cops came they'd been having such a great time, the kiss they'd almost shared still very present in his mind. The electricity between them had been magic and undeniable, and he knew without a doubt that she'd felt it, too. He'd been so sure that she was finally allowing herself to open up to him, to let herself feel all of the love he had to offer. But he'd been wrong. Turning, he walked slowly out of Olivia's apartment, the door closing with a definitive click.

* * *

Olivia stood before herself in a mirror, dressed in only her bra. She'd been planning on taking a shower, but couldn't bring herself to take off her last undergarment. When she'd taken off her pants and laid eyes on the little bruises between her thighs, all of the horrible memories came rushing back, relentlessly taking her breath away. She knew without a doubt that when she removed her bra, there'd be bruises on her breasts, as well.

She hated admitting it, but without Peter, she was abnormally paranoid. Even the slightest shift or crack of her home made her heart feel like it was cannonballing out of her throat. Each time she became frightened, Olivia would close her eyes and tell herself to get over it, that she was a Fringe agent and could handle anything that came her way. It seemed to help— that was until she heard another sound and had to start the process over again.

Turning away from the mirror, Olivia unhooked the clasp of her bra and reached into the tub to turn the shower on. She kept her hands draped across her sore breasts in an attempt to keep them hidden from her own gaze. When the steam of the blazing water finally enveloped her small bathroom, obscuring her clarity of vision, Olivia removed her arm from her chest and stepped into the shower.

As the scalding water hit her skin, Olivia was unable to mask a pleasured moan. Ever since Peter had rescued her from the hotel she'd felt dirty, still able to feel the stinging burn of Daniels hands and mouth on her body. It felt unworldly to finally wash him from her skin, since there was nothing she could do to wash him from her mind.

She could mask his presence, yes, but underneath it all, he was still there. She'd do her best to lock him up inside a recluse place in her mind, but he always managed to find his way back to her consciousness. She'd see his face in a random pattern on the ceiling, hear his voice in the howling wind outside, get unexpected whiffs of his musty cologne. He was everywhere— haunting her and impeding her attempts to continue on with her normal life.

Olivia was fully aware it hadn't even been a day since her assault, but she'd expected herself to be capable of moving on from this quicker than most people. Hell, she'd nearly died in a car accident that left her in a coma, and she was up and walking almost as soon as she'd woken up. Getting over this should be a breeze, right? That's what she assumed, but the reality was that she'd never felt so scared and vulnerable in her entire life.

The main reason she was so on edge was because she knew she'd have to see his face one more time at the trial. Until he was put away, this whole thing was still open and unresolved, making it impossible for Olivia to completely remove him from her mind. What if the hearing didn't happen for a year, or possibly even longer? She didn't think she'd be able to handle feeling like this for much longer, let alone for 365 days.

Stepping out of the shower, Olivia reached for a couple of towels to wrap around her hair and body. She made her way to the kitchen to find something to eat, even though she still wasn't hungry. She knew if she didn't get something in her stomach soon she'd probably start hallucinating, and she didn't want to find out what those hallucinations would be of. Searching through her cupboards, she found a box of cherry Poptarts and took one of the foil packages out.

Olivia took a seat at her kitchen table and picked at the crust of the pastry, noticing for the first time that Peter had cleared the table of their breakfast. Her heart began to ache as she recalled the hurt and confusion in his eyes when she'd told him to go home, but she didn't regret her decision.

Sure she was paranoid and afraid without him by her side, but she couldn't put Peter on a leash and take him wherever she pleased until the trial was over. She needed to get through this on her own, needed everyone to keep seeing her as a daring leader.

After eating half of a Poptart, Olivia decided her battered mind and body needed some sleep, and was looking forward to escaping the cruelty of the world for a few short hours. Closing her blinds and curtains and crawling under the covers, Olivia shut her eyes and did her best to think of happy thoughts as she dozed…

* * *

_Olivia was running in a nearly pitch-black alleyway between two brick buildings, wheezing as she dodged and jumped to avoid broken crates and various pieces of garbage. She was only wearing her undergarments, her gun missing from its usual place on her hip. Something was chasing her, something big and dark and menacing. She ran and ran towards the light at the end of the alley, but its brightness seemed to fade away with every step she took. Her sides felt like someone was stabbing knives into her body, her lungs and heart throbbing in exhaustion. There was no way she could go much longer._

_Abruptly, she lost her footing and stumbled to the damp cobblestone, bloodying her entire body as she painfully skid across the ground. Before she could muster enough energy to make it to her feet, something was pinning her legs and arms to the ground. She screamed and fought to free herself but it was no use. Whatever was on top of her was much stronger than she was._

_Olivia daringly watched the creature move above her as its shadowed face moved closer and closer to hers. Soon its hot breath was on her mouth, her cheeks, her neck, moving down until it was between her breasts._

"_Why are you doing this to me?" Olivia cried._

_The thing stilled above her, then laughed wickedly as its hand came over her mouth and nose, hindering her breathing. She thrashed around wildly and felt herself becoming lightheaded, on the verge of passing out._

_Vacantly she felt its breath next to her ear:_

"_Revenge," It hissed viciously, putting its full weight into smothering her._

_Right before everything went black, Olivia saw his sneering smile shining in the darkness._

_Daniel._

* * *

Olivia shot straight up in bed, gasping as if she'd just run a full-blown marathon. She was drenched in sweat, as well were her pillows and sheets. She looked around frantically trying to figure out where she was, finally realizing she was in her room. She took a deep, shuttering breath, thankfully grasping the fact that it'd all just been an awful nightmare.

Her shaky hand reached for her bedside lamp and turned it on, her room illuminating with a soft, orange glow. The clock read 2:04 AM—she'd been asleep for 10 whole hours.

Although she knew it'd just been a bad dream, Olivia was absolutely petrified, like a child convinced there was a monster under her bed. What if her nightmare had been a premonition— what if Daniel really was coming after her for revenge? What if he'd escaped from the authorities and Olivia's Corteixiphanic abilities were trying to warn her?

Olivia darted for her phone on the nightstand, sending it flying across the room in her eagerness.

"Shit," she cursed, fumbling out of bed and dropping to her hands and knees to search for her mobile. When she finally found it under her dresser, she tried to dial Peter's number, but her hands were trembling too violently. She cried out in exasperation and pressed the 'Send' button, hoping he was the last person she'd called.

Peter's name and number lit up the screen, and Olivia almost sobbed tears of joy as the ringing began.

* * *

Peter was sitting at his kitchen table with a freshly poured Red Russian in hand, his mind too jumbled to sleep. Just as he was about to bring the glass to his lips, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Who would be calling him at this hour on a Saturday morning? Pulling it out, he nearly dropped his drink when he saw Olivia's smiling face light up the screen. He hit the 'Answer' button so hard that his finger started to ache and brought it up to his ear.

"Olivia," He breathed. "Is everything okay?"

"Peter, I think Daniel escaped," She whimpered.

Peter was baffled. "What? Why?"

"I had a dream and he was chasing me and he pinned me down and wanted revenge and—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Olivia, calm down. There is no way he could've escaped."

"How do you know? Jones escaped from a maximum-security prison!"

"Liv, Daniel is not Jones. I know he hasn't escaped because besides being handcuffed to his hospital bed, I made sure he was surrounded 24/7 by guards and equipped with a traceable ankle-monitor."

"…You did?"

"I did."

Being a consultant with the FBI had its perks, especially when the woman he cared for so deeply was also Colonel Broyle's favorite agent. If Daniel tried to escape, he'd likely get shot in the head by several guards. Peter secretly hoped he'd attempt a break for it.

Hearing Peter's reassuring words made a significant amount of her fear dissipate. His voice was like a single red rose against all of the dark horrors of the universe, reminding her that there were still good things in the world. She gripped the phone with both hands and held it as close to her ear as she could.

"Will you keep talking to me?" She pleaded softly.

Peter stood up from his chair and walked to the sink, pouring his drink down the drain.

"Of course I will. Do you want to talk about your dream?"

"Not really."

"That's okay. Want to hear about what I found Walter doing when I got home?"

"Yes."

"So I open the door and there's Walter sitting on the floor, carefully placing dominos in a row. I am not kidding you Liv— dominos covered our entire living room and kitchen. Walter forced me to stand in the entryway for 20 minutes while he continued to make a trail, and then he beamed at me and pushed one of the dominos over. I swear it took a good 5 minutes for them to all fall down. The best part was the last one fell onto some sort of lever and sent a piece of candy flying across the room, where it landed perfectly in Walter's hands. He did all of that for a gumdrop."

Olivia giggled softly and leaned against the wall. "That sounds just like something Walter would do. How long did it take you to clean them up?"

"Around three hours. It would've taken less time, but Walter kept on stacking the dominos back up and pushing them down. There weren't dominos at St. Claire's, so he was thoroughly enjoying himself."

Walter never failed to make her smile. "Thanks for sharing that with me, Peter. I needed a laugh."

"Of course," Peter assured, laying on the sofa and staring at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine Olivia carefree and smiling, her sparkling jade eyes full of bliss. He wished more than anything that she never had to experience this horror. "How long did you sleep for?"

"10 whole hours. I guess I was more exhausted than I thought."

Peter wanted so badly to ask her if she'd eaten yet, but he knew it'd make her angry. He was extremely worried about her, though he pretended not to be as they chatted. Although their conversation was casual and light, he could tell that something was wrong, though she refused to disclose exactly what it was. Why was she so reluctant to open up?

"I'm glad you got some sleep. Do you feel a little better now?"

Though some of her fear was gone, Olivia still felt shaken by her nightmare, and knew Peter would be able to tell if she was lying. "Not really."

Peter sighed. "Olivia, I know it's late, but would you like me to come over? Just two friends that can't sleep hanging out, that's all."

"Yes," Olivia blurted before her mind could talk her heart out of it. Just this one night she would let Peter comfort her. Just this one night she'd let herself be weak. That's it.

Peter knew it'd been a long shot asking if he could come over, and was stunned beyond belief when she actually said "yes."

"I'll be there in 15."

He jumped up from the couch and left a small note for Walter so he wouldn't get another anxious call, and then made a beeline out the door.


	6. Chapter 6

After Peter had ended the call, Olivia stood up off of the floor, shuddering as a slight breeze tickled across her skin. Looking down, she saw that she was completely naked. Suddenly she remembered that she'd fallen asleep in her towel, which must've come off while she was thrashing about during her nightmare.

In the shallow light, she could see dark stripes against the ivory skin of her breasts in the perfect shape of fingers. Olivia breathed in sharply and averted her gaze towards the wall, covering herself with her arm like she'd done before her shower. Hastily she kneeled in front of her dresser and drew out a large t-shirt from her bottom drawer. She pulled it over her head, the hem of it hitting her mid-thigh, and slipped on some cotton panties.

Grabbing a light blanket from her closet, she wrapped it around her body and made her way to the couch to wait for Peter. A few minutes later she heard his light tap at the door and a key turning inside the lock. She was glad she'd given it to him in that moment, because she really had no energy to get up and answer the door.

Even though she'd slept a long time, she still felt drained of every ounce of vigor in her body. She assumed her slumber hadn't been very deep—her subconscious still on high alert for potential dangers.

When Peter walked in, he immediately shut the door behind him and locked it. The atmosphere in her apartment was thickly laced with fear, making him want to fold her into his arms and tell her that everything would be okay.

"Hey," he greeted tenderly, taking off his coat and shoes in the entryway. He was wearing a fitted gray t-shirt and black sweats, looking as handsome as ever without even trying.

"Hi," she replied.

The second he rid himself of his outside-wear he walked straight towards Olivia. When he passed the kitchen his eyes wandered to the table where he saw a half-eaten Poptart on top of the wrapper. Was that all she'd eaten?

Olivia watched him stare at her barely-nibbled-on snack as a worried look washed over his face. She expected him to say something, but instead he turned his gaze back to her and continued to walk towards the couch.

When he sat down next to her, leaving a considerable amount of space, Olivia was disappointed. Immediately she scooted closer to him and snuggled herself into his chest, his arms wrapping tightly around her and rubbing her back. For the first time since he'd left, she felt safe.

_Just one night_, Olivia thought.

"What's just one night?" Peter queried.

Wait, had she said that out loud? Great. "Nothing. Never mind."

When Peter pulled her away from his body to look her square in the eyes, she had to swallow a moan of protest.

"Olivia. Please."

Olivia chewed on her bottom lip. Peter deserved to know the truth, but it was still hard for her to admit.

"This is just one night. Me letting myself be weak. Me needing you."

Peter looked at her perplexedly for a moment, and then all at once, everything clicked. She'd been reluctant to have him here comforting and taking care of her because she was afraid he'd see her as weak from now on. To Olivia, that was the world's worst insult.

Taking her face in his hands, he looked at her intently, all humor removed from his face. "You are _not_ weak. Not in the slightest, Olivia. You have been and always will be the strongest most driven woman I have ever met. Needing someone to lean on after a traumatic experience doesn't mean you're weak—it means you're human. For once in your life take down that wall around your heart and let me in. I don't care if you cry, scream, throw things—my perception of you will not change. Let me be here for you, Liv."

Olivia was left speechless by his sweet words. She could see the sincerity in his piercing blue eyes, and undoubtedly knew that he'd meant everything he'd just spoken. As she stared at the wonderful man before her, whom she cared for so deeply, she felt the cage around her heart open up a little, which was all it took for her to lose it.

She made tight fists in his t-shirt, her face flat against his chest as she sobbed violently. Peter tucked her head under his chin and slightly rocked her back and forth in a soothing manner. He hated seeing her so distressed, but was relieved that she was finally letting it all out. She'd been a shaken up bottle of soda ready to explode at any moment, and he was glad that he was there for her as everything came crashing down.

"He's everywhere, Peter," she wept. "Everywhere I look, every time I close my eyes, no matter what I do, he's there. And his presence will continue to haunt me until he's behind bars. But what if the trial isn't for another year? I cannot live like this that long. I don't know what to do."

Olivia's nearly unintelligible words were like an arrow straight through his heart. He kept silent for a while longer while he contemplated what to say next.

"Liv, it's barely been a day since all of this happened to you. Of course you're going to feel scared and disturbed, it'd be strange if you didn't." Peter tightened his hold around her, his voice getting softer as he spoke his last sentences. "I know that you've never felt this way before, never needed someone to lean on, but I promise you that it will get better each day. But right now, all you need to do is trust me and let me take care of you. This isn't something you can just push through and get over like you do with everything else—this is something you have to face. But we can face it together, if you let me in."

Olivia still clung to his shirt as her sobs slowly calmed into spasms of hiccupped breathing. Though she believed everything he said about it being normal to need someone after an experience like this, it was still hard for her to depend on another person. She'd been independent since she was 14, never relying on a single sole since.

But now she had Peter, who was the best friend she'd ever had and the one person she trusted completely. Pushing her hesitations aside for the first time in 25 years, Olivia finally released her caged heart, allowing Peter take it gently into his hands where she unquestionably knew it'd be safe.

"I need you, Peter. I need you to help me through this. I can't do this alone," She admitted.

Peter felt like doing cartwheels all over her living room, and just might have gone for it if he could actually do a cartwheel. He'd been trying to get Olivia to open up to him for years, and now she was finally letting him see her completely, all masks and walls stripped away. He'd only ever caught glimpses of this side of Olivia throughout the years, and each time she'd close herself back up, just like she'd done when she'd told him she wanted to be alone merely hours before.

But now she'd finally realized that there were certain things in life that shouldn't be faced alone, especially when she had someone who cared for her and would keep her safe, even if it meant putting his own life in jeopardy. And him holding and comforting her at this moment didn't mean she was weak—it meant she was lucky.

"That's why I'm here, Liv. I'm not going anywhere. Not now, not ever."

"I know," she murmured, moving her face up to nuzzle his neck. She wanted to kiss, touch, and make love to him, but she felt so sheltered and content, and all she had the energy to do was fall into a deep, satisfied sleep.

Peter smiled against her hair as she brushed his nose along her neck, so happy that she finally knew he would never leave her. He planted a light kiss on her head, and overflowing with emotions, blurted out:

"I love you, Olivia."

He waited anxiously for her to respond, but her rhythmic breathing and lifeless body made him realize that she had fallen asleep. He let out a light, breathy laugh and shook his head, always humored at how fast Olivia could fall asleep, considering how on edge and guarded she always was. Even though she had already slept for 10 hours, he wasn't the least bit surprised that she was sleeping right now. He was sure her slumber had been light and unpleasant, considering how paranoid she'd been on top of being stuck in that horrid nightmare. But now that he was here, she could finally get the sleep that she so badly needed.

Standing up from the couch with Olivia limp in his arms, he carried her to her room and stopped in his tracks when he saw the scene before him. Her pillows and comforter were at opposite ends of the room, her sheets knotted up as tightly as a braided rope.

"Jesus," Peter muttered to himself, not sure what to do with the sleeping woman in his arms. Then he remembered her guest bedroom where Rachel and Ella had stayed, and carried her to it.

As he laid her down under the covers and brushed his lips against her cheek, she gave a contended sigh, the corners of her lips turning up in a slight smile. He wanted nothing more than to curl up next to her and hold her close to him all night, but needed to make sure she was okay with it before he got too ahead of himself. He'd gotten this far—he couldn't risk ruining any chance he had with her.

Peter tiptoed out of the room and headed back towards Olivia's bedroom. He picked up her pillows and comforter, and was confused when he found them to be damp. He set them down on her bed and ran his hand along her sheets, finding them slightly moist, as well. It then came to his attention that she'd probably thrashed about during her nightmare so aggressively that she'd broken into a heavy sweat. God, could she ever catch a break?

He spent a good hour untangling her sheets, and then gathered them and her pillowcases together to throw into the wash. Her comforter would need to be sent to the dry cleaners, which he added to his list of things to do, along with grocery shopping.

Even though Olivia was allowing him to take care of her, he knew that she was going to press the protest button when he told her his plans, but that was just too damn bad. She needed to learn how to let other people do nice things for her for once in her life.

After he'd made her bed up with fresh sheets and pillows, he decided he might as well try to get some sleep. He poked his head into Olivia's guest bedroom and smiled when he saw she was still sleeping hard.

He found a large blanket and an extra pillow in her hall closet, and brought them over to the couch where he flopped down exhaustedly. He buried his face in the pillow, which smelled exactly like Olivia, and drifted off.


	7. Chapter 7

Olivia awoke with a start when her stomach growled so loudly it nearly made her reach for her gun in alarm. As she took in her surroundings and realized she was in her guest bedroom, she was a little confused. Hadn't she fallen asleep on the couch with Peter, or had that all been a dream?

Jumping out of bed, she walked briskly into her living room to find Peter making pancakes, indisputably the reason her stomach had woken her up in hunger. Her whole body relaxed as she watched him from behind, standing over the stove with a spatula in his hand, his hair sticking up every which way from sleep.

It hadn't been a dream. He had really come to her home and comforted her as she cried, promising to never leave her side. He had really convinced her to open her heart to him and let him take care of her. He was really here.

When she walked closer to him, he sensed her presence and turned around, that special smile crossing his face that he saved for her, and her alone.

"'Morning, Liv. I know you told me I was only allowed to make you breakfast that one time, but since we didn't get the chance to eat it, I decided that—"

He was cut off by surprise when Olivia wrapped her arms around him tightly, resting her head against his chest. Her fingers clasped to the back of his shirt as if she were afraid he would float away from her. She inhaled him deeply, his scent enveloping her like a thick, wool blanket and making her feel warm and protected.

"Hi," was all she could mutter as she reveled in the feel of his strong, sinewy arms wrapping around her like a shield.

"Hi yourself," he intoned against her hair, the vibrations of his low voice making her shiver with delight. He held Olivia against him for a while longer, enjoying this new, unguarded side of her, until he smelled something burning.

"Shit!" He cursed, turning around to find the pancake as black as tar and smoking. He moved the pan off of the burner and frantically waved the smoke away, praying the fire detector wouldn't start wailing.

When the smoke had dissipated without making the alarm go off, Peter relaxed and leaned back against the counter. He stole a glance at Olivia, who was biting her lip to stifle a grin, which she was failing miserably at.

"You think that was funny?" He sneered playfully.

"A little, yeah."

When Peter looked away, not saying a thing, Olivia was baffled. He always had some sort of clever comeback. But then he looked at her, his eyes full of mischief, and lunged. Olivia shrieked when he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, throwing her playfully onto the couch and straddling her.

He began to tickle her relentlessly, her body writhing and squirming against him as she giggled wildly.

"Say you're sorry," he insisted.

"Peter!" She cried between fits of laughter, her stubborn refusing to comply.

"Say it!"

"I'm sorry!" She blurted, not able to take the pleasurable torture any longer. When his fingers stopped tickling her, he brought his face down to hers. She suspected he was going to kiss her and closed her eyes in anticipation, but instead, he breathed in her ear:

"I win."

He simpered at her and stood up, walking away and leaving her lying breathless on the couch. Didn't he see how badly she'd wanted him to kiss her, or was he doing this on purpose to make her crazy? She guessed the latter.

"Breakfast is ready, Olivia!" He called from the kitchen. "Unless you're still pouting about losing?"

If she hadn't been so hungry she would've made him wish that he'd never messed with Olivia Dunham.

"This isn't over yet, Bishop," She warned, narrowing her eyes at him as she took a seat at the table.

Peter grinned and set a plate full of blueberry pancakes, a cup of mixed fruit, and a steaming mug of coffee in front of her.

"Oh Peter, thank you. This is wonderful."

"Don't mention it," He spoke softy, bringing his hand up to caress her cheek with his thumb. She leaned into him and closed her eyes, wondering why she hadn't let him in sooner.


	8. Chapter 8

After breakfast, Peter insisted that they watch _Say Anything_, since he'd seen it in her movie collection the night before and had a sudden urge to watch it. He popped it in her DVD player and took a seat next to her on the couch. Olivia draped a blanket over them and rested her head on his shoulder, his arm wrapping around her waist and pulling her closer. He rested his hand on her bare knee and began to stroke it affectionately.

As they watched the movie in a comfortable silence, Olivia realized she had truly been missing on out something special by closing her heart off from Peter. Never before had she felt so close to someone, so cherished, so secure. She wanted him to be with her always, even after all of this chaos ended.

"Livia?" Peter spoke, waking her from her daydream.

"Yeah?"

"I know this is the last thing you want to be thinking about, but there's been one question that's been eating away at me…"

"You can ask me whatever you want, Peter."

"Why did you go to that bar in the first place? I mean, it just isn't like you to go to an unfamiliar bar by yourself."

Olivia froze. Fuck. How was she supposed to explain this to Peter without telling him that the reason she went to the bar was to prove that she wasn't uptight? He would blame himself for everything that happened to her, and she couldn't afflict that kind of pain on him. She just couldn't.

Peter felt her tense up and pulled back so he could see her face, which had drained of all color.

"Liv?" He questioned worriedly.

"I—I went because—because I wanted a change in scenery," She stuttered, her mind too frantic to come up with a better lie.

Peter eyed her dubiously. He'd always been able to see right through her; lying to him just wasn't going to work.

"Olivia, why did you go to that bar?" He questioned nervously, his heart beating so hard he was sure the neighbors could hear it.

Deep down he knew the answer to his own question, and it literally made him want to die. He had asked because he prayed that she'd have another reason—that it wasn't his careless words that had sent her to that damn bar.

Olivia had hoped he would never ask her that question, because she knew he'd get the truth out of her. She felt her face contort with distress as she looked at him, tears beginning to blur her vision.

"Peter…"

But she knew he wasn't listening to her. His face was completely blank of all emotion, his eyes staring into space. She'd never seen anyone look so distraught.

"Peter? Please look at me. You're scaring me," She spoke shakily, bringing her hands up to cup his face.

Suddenly his impassive eyes locked on her hers, and all at once, the waterworks began. He pulled her into his arms, sobbing even more vehemently than she had the night before, which she didn't think was possible.

"I'm so sorry, Liv. I'm so sorry," He wept. "I never meant for this to happen. I'm so sorry."

"Peter it's not your fault. None of this is your fault," She assured defiantly.

"Of course it's my fault. You went to that bar to prove that you weren't uptight and boring, didn't you?"

Olivia didn't answer him, which basically screamed "YES."

"I will never forgive myself for this, Olivia. Never."

She had known that this would happen. She drew his body away from hers and wiped the tears from his eyes. He wouldn't meet her gaze, so she took his face between her hands once again and forced him to look at her.

"Peter, this is _not_ your fault. You tried to explain yourself to me, and I pushed you away. So tell me now. Tell me why you said those words if you didn't mean them."

"They were a cover-up for the real reason I didn't want Hutton to ask you out."

"And why didn't you want him to ask me out?"

Peter brought his forehead to rest against hers. "Because I want you to be mine. I want to be the only guy that takes you places. But I was too chicken to admit it, so I just sputtered out a lie: a lie that caused you to get drugged and assaulted, all because of my stupidity. I am so sorry, Olivia. I never in a million years imagined that such a little fib would result in this. You are the last person in the universe that I'd want to hurt."

Despite everything that was happening, Olivia felt a smile tease the corner of her lips. Peter wanted to be the only guy in her life. He wanted her to be his. If only she would've let him explain at the lab.

Pulling her head back, she watched him gaze at her expectantly. Then she put her hands on the back of his neck and brought her lips to his. Their kiss was hesitant at first, but didn't take long to become heated and passionate. For a second she believed everything was going to be okay, but all too soon, Peter pulled away.

"Olivia, I can't. Not after what I've done to you. You deserve so much better than me."

Olivia looked at him incredulously. There was no way she was going to lose him now. No way.

"Peter, what do I have to say, what do I have to do, to prove to you that this isn't your fault? Yeah, you should've just old Agent Hutton the truth about why you didn't want him to ask me out, but you didn't. And I should've let you explain yourself before storming out of the lab, but I didn't. We both made mistakes, but we're human. That's what we do. What happened to me was horrible and unfortunate and it'll haunt me for a long time, but eventually I will overcome it. But I need you to help me, Peter." Olivia touched her cheek to his so her lips were right by his ear. "I want you to be the only man in my life, too."

When Peter didn't draw away from her, she took it as a positive sign, and began to run her fingers through his thick, wiry hair. But then he pulled back, stood up, and started to walk towards the door without another word.

Olivia felt like a balloon with a tiny hole, all of the air escaping until there was nothing but a useless piece of plastic on the ground.

"You promised," She whispered, her voice nearly inaudible, on the verge of tears. "You promised you wouldn't leave me. I need you. Please, Peter."

Peter stopped in his tracks, closing his eyes as his mind battled what to do next. He knew how hard it was for Olivia to say those words, and could hear the desperation in her voice as she spoke them. She had finally opened herself up to him, and he was going to leave her sitting in her apartment, alone, afraid, and heartbroken.

He began to think about what she'd said earlier—that he was a human, and humans made mistakes. But he'd learned from his mistakes, and realized before it was too late that he was making a huge one right now by leaving.

Even though he was still angry with himself for his thoughtless words in the lab, he knew that there was no way he could take them back. He could, however, make up for them in his own way by showing Olivia how much he loved her.

When Peter turned around and gave her an apologetic smile, Olivia's heart did a backflip in her chest.

"I'm not going anywhere, Liv. Not now, not ever."

And then she was swathed in his arms, tears packed with nearly every emotion possible streaming down her cheeks. She knew he wouldn't have left her. Peter would never break a promise to her, no matter what.

When he took her face into his hands to meet his gaze, she was overjoyed to find that their earlier emptiness was now filled with a deep, swirling emotion that made her knees weak.

"So you think we could try that kiss again?" He questioned.

Olivia answered his question by melting her lips to his, wrapping her arms around his neck so he couldn't get away, not that he'd ever dream of doing so. His lips fit perfectly against hers, tasting of blueberries and coffee and…love.

When she pulled away from him, Peter gaped at her bewilderedly.

"He was right," Olivia breathed, elation taking over her body.

"Who was right?"

"Dr. Madison. I hoped it was true, but was never fully convinced until just now when we kissed."

Now Peter was even more confused, if that was possible. "Right about what, Liv?"

Olivia moved her hands to the nape of his neck, her thumbs smoothing over his cheeks.

"That you love me."

Peter blinked and smiled. "Honey, I don't think it takes a medical degree to figure that one out."

Olivia giggled blissfully and brought her lips to his, kissing him so passionately that it made her head spin. She wasn't even 100% sure which way was up.

Peter took fistfuls of her hair and pulled her face as close to his as physically possible. She tasted so heavenly that he felt like he was going to die if he didn't get more. Teasing her lips with his tongue, she didn't hesitate to open her mouth to allow him deeper access. Their tongues danced together lasciviously until Peter began to nibble at her lower lip. Olivia gave a mewl of pleasure and enfolded her arms around his back, pulling him down until he was lying on top of her.

When he felt her hands tugging at the hem of his shirt, it was his turn to pull away and make her stare at him confoundedly.

"Olivia, are you sure about this?"

She knew that not only was he asking if she was ready do this with him, but also if she was ready to be with someone after what had happened to her. As she looked into his eyes and saw what she now knew was pure love, she brought her lips up to meet his.

"Positive," she purred against his mouth, making his manhood twitch with need.

Unexpectedly, Peter scooped her up into his arms and carried her to her bedroom, where she saw that he had not only made her bed, but put fresh sheets and pillowcases on as well. She knew that he'd been tired the night before, but still he had held and comforted her until she'd fallen asleep, finally carrying her to her guest bedroom so he could clean up her room. How had she not seen how incredible Peter was until now?

"Peter," Olivia whispered in his ear after he'd positioned her onto the bed, starting an amorous trail of kisses down her neck.

"Hmm?" He hummed against her flesh, the heightened sensitivity of her skin making her gasp with desire.

When she didn't answer him, he turned his gaze to hers, finding her staring at him like he was the most sacred being on the planet.

"I love you, too."

Peter wasn't sure if he was hallucinating or if she'd actually just said she loved him. He knew that she had feelings for him, but had no idea that they were so strong. Opening up to him must've released all of the pent-up affection she felt for him, finally allowing herself to acknowledge just how deeply she cared for him.

After 2 years of relentless wishing, she was finally his, and he was finally hers. Peter felt like the luckiest man in the world.

Bringing his face next to hers, he brushed his nose along her soft cheek.

"I'm going to show you how you deserve to be touched, Olivia. How you deserve to be loved. Right now and forever after."

Olivia felt her heart swell, and brought her lips to his again. This time when she tugged at his shirt, he let her pull it right off over his head and toss it to the ground. She'd seen him many times without a shirt, but this was the very first time she had the pleasure of running her hands up and down his smooth, sculpted back.

When she felt Peter's hands at the hem of her long t-shirt, she lifted her arms up so he could slide it off of her. Tossing her top to the ground beside his, he enveloped her mouth in another mind-blowing kiss.

The feeling of his bare chest rubbing against hers was unworldly, making her nipples harden with every brush of his skin. Suddenly his lips were at her earlobe, nibbling it and making her toes curl. Who knew such a strange place would nearly send her over the edge.

Peter trailed kisses from her ear to her shoulder, then moved to the hollow at the base of her neck, sucking and licking her skin like she was a popsicle on a blazing summer day. She couldn't mask the small moans and sighs that he induced with every movement of his lips and tongue.

Continuing downward with his amorous grazes, Olivia closed her eyes, awaiting the feel of his heated mouth on her breasts. But nothing happened. When she looked up, she found him staring down at her, a heartbreaking sadness warping his beautiful face.

She opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong, but stopped herself when she realized he was staring at the finger-like bruises along the skin of her breasts. She watched him for a little while longer, then moved up onto her elbows until she was mere inches from his face. Placing her fingers under his chin, she turned him to look at her.

Without saying a word, she kissed his eyes, his nose, his cheeks, then finally his mouth, reassuring him that it was okay. He sighed and pressed his lips to her forehead, then lightly pushed her back onto the bed.

Peter tentatively traced his fingers along the bruises, wishing that he had the power to erase them with his fingertips. Slowly, he brought his lips down to kiss her wounded flesh.

Olivia could almost feel her injuries melting away with every caress of his lips, the love emitted in each of his sweet kisses enough to heal her. She was no longer afraid to look at her discolored skin, knowing Peter was there to comfort her and take her pain away.

When his mouth found her nipple, she arched her back and gasped, tangling her hands in his hair in encouragement. His tongue moved around her hardened point, making her unconsciously buck her hips up against his. He groaned against her breast as she bumped against his already hard member and rolled her other nipple between his fingers.

With his body flush against hers, his mouth and fingers at her breasts, and the intoxicating presence of love all around her, she could feel herself go taut as she wrapped her legs around his hips, preparing for release. When Peter's teeth began to nibble her oversensitive bud, she lost it with a loud cry of ecstasy.

Peter elongated Olivia's orgasm by moving his mouth to her other breast and lightly running his teeth along her swollen, pebbled flesh. Her hips were now rubbing forcibly against his with a need that nearly sent him over the edge with her.

Languidly, he traced his tongue from her breast to her navel, leaving a shiny wet trail along her gorgeous, summer-speckled skin. He continued south until he reached the top of her panties, and then abruptly moved to the inside of her ankle, gradually, agonizingly, moving upwards.

Olivia opened her legs wider to give him better access, sighing in serenity when he began to kiss away all of the tiny bruises on her thighs.

After several long minutes she began to grow restless as her need for him took control. Peter seemed to sense her craving, and dipped his fingers into the edge of her panties, sliding them down her legs without hesitation. She felt his lips back at the inside of her thighs, dragging kisses over every inch of her skin, except in the one place she ached for him. She creased her brow and whimpered in frustration, then finally felt his humid breath against her folds.

He continued to breathe against her; sliding his fingernails along the sides of her torso and watching her sensitive skin sprout goosebumps everywhere he touched. Without warning he took hold of her hips and lightly pressed his lips just to the outside of her center, enjoying watching her squirm with impatience.

Peter didn't give in to her eagerness. He didn't want to rush into this—he wanted her to see how sacred she was to him. He kissed, licked, and nibbled all around her core as his fingers traced patterns into her stomach and thighs. When her body stopped its fervent writing and she began to give soft moans of pleasure, he smiled.

As much as Olivia wanted to feel his mouth fully against her, she had to admit that she was enjoying the way he was apprizing her like a rare gem. Never in her life had she felt so special or so loved, and hadn't realized how much she was craving those feelings until now.

Gently, Peter finally pressed his lips to her center, making her inhale sharply and intertwine her fingers with his on her stomach. He tenderly kissed the velvety skin of her folds before releasing his tongue, delighting in the way her body convulsed and bucked against him. When his mouth found her bundle of nerves, her legs wrapped around his neck in urgency.

Just when she thought she could take it no more, his mouth was on hers again, the hungry kiss so impassioned it nearly made her black out. Vaguely she felt a nudge at her entrance, and realized that somewhere in-between pleasuring her, he'd removed his pants.

Breaking their kiss, Peter locked his gaze with hers, wanting to see each and every emotion she felt dance across her face as he made love to her. Bit by bit he inched into her, taking his time and relishing in the heavenly feeling of her warmth against him.

Olivia threw her head back in euphoria as his full length slid inside of her, bringing her hands up to rub his muscular back. As he created a slow, savoring rhythm, he began leaving sweet, open-mouthed kisses on her chin and neck, dually stimulating her raw nerves and making her whimper with overwhelming amounts of pleasure.

They rocked together, bodies as one, luxuriating in the sensation of skin against skin. Peter's hands were like two travelers searching and claiming Olivia's body as their own, exploring each and every inch of her immaculate flesh.

Peter's pace gradually quickened as Olivia's walls began to pulse around him, building her orgasm like a rollercoaster slowly clicking its way to the highest point of the track.

It didn't take long for her breathing to quicken, turning into audible sighs, until finally, she plummeted down from her peak, her fingernails digging into his back as molten fire spread from her core all the way to the tips of her fingers and toes. She'd never felt anything so magical or exhilarating in her life.

Peter moved inside of her a few more times before he reached the point of no return and released, collapsing on the mattress so he wouldn't crush her. He lay face down on the pillow breathless, his hand resting on her heart, which was beating so fast it was more like a flutter.

When their breathing finally returned to normal, Peter turned his head to look at her flushed face, her golden hair damp with sweat and splaying all around her like a halo. He was fully convinced that she was an angel.

Her lips transformed into a lazy smile, and Peter pulled her into his chest. As he trailed his fingers up and down her back, Olivia was expecting him to say something hopelessly romantic.

"I can't believe that I've fallen head over heels in love with a screamer," Peter murmured.

Not exactly what she had in mind.

Olivia pushed him playfully and gave a light laugh. "You're mean!"

She tried scooting away from him, but Peter was having none of that. He caught her in his arms and dragged her right back until she was lying fully on top of him.

"I didn't say I didn't like it," He assured, kissing the tip of her nose.

She grinned and lay her head down on his chest, kissing a small freckle just below his collarbone. She'd be happy to stay in this moment with Peter for the rest of her life.

"I want to do something special tonight. Just the two of us," Olivia murmured.

"Anything you want, sweetheart," Peter replied, bringing her hand to his lips to kiss along every inch of it.

Olivia thought for a moment. "Is that dinner invitation still valid?"

"Yep. No expiration date on that offer. Do you have someplace special in mind?"

Olivia pressed her lips to his. "Here. Just you and me. We can make dinner together and then…" She traced her finger from his chest to his happy trail, gazing at him humidly and making her intention as clear as a bell.

"Hmm I think that might just be the best idea you've ever had," He whispered huskily in her ear, tightening his hold around her.

For the rest of the day and into the evening, Peter and Olivia lied tangled in each other's arms, talking and laughing about everything under the sun.

That night while Olivia was spooned against Peter's sleeping form, she thought about Daniel for the first time in hours. But, instead of feeling frightened, she felt fearless, like she could overcome anything and everything now that she had Peter.

The second she'd stripped away her façade and let him hold her heart, she was no longer afraid. She'd had no idea just how powerful the effect of his love would be, and for the first time in over 2 decades, knew without a doubt she'd never be alone again.

Here with him, she was safe.

**_Feedback is always greatly appreciated! Hope you enjoyed :)_**


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